Get organizedTips to motivateand ​​inspire you!

Did you know that January is GO Month? The National Association of Organizing and Productivity Professionals created GO Month as a way to kick-start the year by focusing on getting organized and being productive.

GO = Goals + Outline

As a professional organizer, every day I help my clients set organizing goals, then we work together to outline and take the steps needed to achieve their goals.

GOALWhat’s the difference between a resolution and a goal? A resolution defines an action you’ve decided to take, but a goal is the reason WHY you’re taking that action. An action can produce multiple goals. Here’s an example:

Resolution: I will open the mail every day.Goal #1: Eliminate the giant pile of unopened mail that accumulates on the kitchen table.Goal #2: Pay bills on time.Goal #3: Save money by not paying late fees.

Keeping your goal in mind motivates you to continue doing the thing you’ve resolved. Even if you slip a little bit, remember your goal and keep inching toward it.

OUTLINEHaving a goal is great, but without a plan of action you won't get very far.

The outline is the map that leads you to your goal.

Step 1. Define and write down your goal, either on a piece of paper (sticky note, notebook, calendar, etc.) or somewhere in your digital world (a list app, document, notes app, etc.). Don’t forget to write the “why” of your goal (e.g. Open mail daily and don’t let it pile up on the kitchen table so my family has a place to eat dinner.) to keep your eye on the prize.

Step 2. Brainstorm and list all the actions you could take to achieve your goal.

Open mail every day.

Put recycling bin near where I open mail, so it’s easy to toss unneeded paper there instead of on kitchen table.

Make a Bills to Pay folder and hang it in a prominent spot on the wall near where I open the mail so it’s easy to put the bills there instead of on the table.

Set a reminder on my phone to look at the Bills to Pay folder every Tuesday.

When paying a bill, sign up for autopay and paperless options to reduce the amount of mail.

I’ll bet you could come up with a bunch more actions, right? Do a brain dump of all your ideas.

Step 3: Put the actions in order.

List the most crucial action at the top: If I don’t do anything else, at least I must do this.

Next, list the most doable actions or the steps you can take right away.

Give yourself a timeline framework by listing due dates, frequency (e.g. little bits to do each month), or recurrence (e.g. every Tuesday) next to the actions.

"A decision delayed is a decision unmade and a decision unmade lets clutter invade." -Sandra Felton, Organizing for Life

I love this quote because it so clearly states how clutter is created by the inability to make a decision. We let things lie around or pile up because we just don't want to deal with them and confront them. Unfortunately, this only makes us have to deal with them even more as they mound up and invade our lives.

Improving your ability to make a decision about what to do with any given item (mail, paperwork, knick knacks, gifts, leftovers, etc.) in the moment will greatly reduce the amount of clutter that builds up around you.

If you're having trouble making these decisions, ask why that is. Do you not have a place for the item? Is there guilt, sentimentality, anxiety or another emotion associated with the item? Why are you letting it sit around instead of putting it away?